The present invention relates to a circuit for protecting a device, and more particularly, for protecting a device or complex system against radiation.
Electronic components or devices are sensitive to radiation, such as gamma rays and neutrons, which radiation causes a change in operating characteristics. In particular, radiation, if intense enough and for a long enough duration, can cause a total failure of some electric components due to excessive heat dissipation. The possibility of this happening is especially high for sensitive devices such as positive conductivity type-intrinsic-negative conductivity type (PIN) diodes. These diodes are used in applications such as electronic phase shifters. If the PIN diodes are rendered inoperable, they must be replaced, which is time consuming and therefore costly.